Cage-and-roller combination

ABSTRACT

In cage and roller combinations suitable for operation between inner and outer members to form a bearing, a cage guided on its outside diameter is produced by forming a blank having thickened rim portions at the ends, relieved relatively thin portions inwardly of the rim portions, thickened guiding portions and outward retaining portions inwardly of the relieved portions and a relatively thin midlength portion, then punching windows with parallel sides from the midlength portion, the guiding and outward retaining portion and the relieved portion but not entering the rim portions, the windows being relatively wide at the ends and relatively narrow at the middle, and then coining the crossbars desirably simultaneously to form lips at the guiding and outward retaining portions near the outside while retaining parallel sides at the guiding portions near the pitch diameter, and to displace metal from the midlength portions so as to form inwardly converging sidewalls which will clear the rollers and prevent escape of the rollers inwardly. The invention may provide cage-and-roller combinations in which a single roller in a window is guided adjoining the pitch circle near the end, the guiding portion outwardly converges to retain the roller against outward motion, and the window at the end terminates short of the rims.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Hans W. Koch Levittown, Pa.

[2!] Appl. No. 879,352

[22] Filed Nov. 24, 1969 June 1, I97! Roller Bearing Company of AmericaWest Trenton, NJ.

[45] Patented [73] Assignee [54] CAGE-AND-ROLLER COMBINATION 10 Claims,16 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner-Martin P. Schwadron Assistant ExaminerF rank SuskoAnorneyjackson, Jackson & Chovanes ABSTRACT: In cage and rollercombinations suitable for operation between inner and outer members toform a bearing, a cage guided'on its outside diameter is produced byforming a blank having thickened rim portions at the ends, relievedrelatively thin portions inwardly of the rim portions, thickened guidingportions and outward retaining portions inwardly of the relievedportions and a relatively thin midlength portion, then punching windowswith parallel sides from the midlength portion, the guiding and outwardretaining portion and the relieved portion but not entering the rimportions, the windows being relatively wide at the ends and relativelynarrow at the middle, and then coining the crossbars desirablysimultaneously to form lips at the guiding and outward retainingportions near the outside while retaining parallel sides at the guidingportions near the pitch diameter, and to displace metal from themidlength portions so as to form inwardly converging sidewalls whichwill clear the rollers and prevent escape of the rollers inwardly. Theinvention may provide cage-and-roller combinations in which a singleroller in a window is guided adjoining the pitch circle near the end,the guiding portion outwardly converges to retain the roller againstoutward motion, and the window at the end terminates short of the rims.

PATENTEUJUN nan 35 21 5 sum 1 [IF 4 QL A FIG.4

INVENTOR.

HANS KOCH BY mam ATTORNEYS.

ATENTEU JUN 1 1971 SHEET 2 [IF 4 FIG. 6

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' HANS KOCH ATTORNEYS.

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' HANS KOCH A'TTORNEYS.

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HANS KOCH ATTORNEYS.-

CAGE-AND-ROLLER COMBINATION DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION This application isbeing divided, and the divisional application relating to the methodwill be embodied in Ser. No. 88,373 filed Nov. 10, I970.

The present invention relates to roller-and-cage combinations of thecharacter which are intended to operate between a hardened shaft on theinside, and the interior or bell portion of a hardened shaft at theoutside, or in a bearing outer race or recess at the outside. Thecage-and-roller combinations of the character under discussion areextensively used in vehicle transmissionsand as connecting-rod bearingsin internal combustion enginesalt will be understood that the cage maybe interrupted as for insertion around a crankshaft.

A purpose of the invention is to greatly improve the tool life in makingsteel cages for roller-and-cage combinations by eliminating offcentershaving operations which have formerly been necessary. I

A further purpose is to make it possible to produce rollerand-cagecombinations having thick machined cages using metals which are strongerand more wear resistant than aluminum and particularly to permit theproduction of such cages from steel. By this technique the tendency ofwindows to open up and release rollers which has been encountered inaluminum cagesis prevented.

A further. purpose is to permit the manufacture ofa cage for aroller-and-cage combination by greatly reducing the amount of metalthickness through which punching must occur, particularly adjacent theends of the punches, and thus greatly reducing wear on the punch curvedend portions.

A further purpose is to avoid the tendency which has previously existedto twist the cage crossbars by conducting punching and shavingoperations in a direction other than along the radial direction withrespect to the cage.

A further purpose is to accomplish guiding at the pitch circle and avoidany tendency to cam the rollers out of the cage by virtue of the guidingon a coined surface.

A further purpose is to form a window with parallel sides, wide at theends and narrow toward the midlength area, and to coin the crossbarsbetween the windows near the ends in the radial direction from thecenter of the crossbars so as to form outer retaining lips at the endsand so as to displace metal a the midlength portion to permit the rollerto seat and be retained.

' A further purpose is to avoid a tendency to rock the crossbar underthe shaving action so as to make the roller tend to bind in the windowat one side of the crossbar and tend to be loose in the window at theother side of the crossbar, and to make the retention inside and outsideby the crossbars more uniform on all windows.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims.

In the drawings I have chosen to illustrate one only of the numerousembodiments in which the invention may appear, selecting the forms shownfrom the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactoryoperation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

FIG. 1 isan end elevation partly in section transverse to the bearingaxis, illustrating a roIler-and-cage combination of the invention.'

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the roller-and-cage combination of FIG. 1,showing half of the cage completely finished and the other half of thecage prior to punching of the windows.

FIG. 3 is a sectional perspective showing a portion of the finished cageof the invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section through a bearing employing theroller-and-cage combination of the invention, the section being taken onthe line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. Sis a section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectioned side elevation of the blank from whichthe cage has been manufactured in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 is an end elevation of the blank of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary outside view of the blank after punching thewindow and before coining, I

FIG. 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 isa section on the line 11-11 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a section on the line 12-12 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary outside elevation showing the completed cage ofthe invention after coining.

FIG. 14 is a section on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic progressive stepwise view, partly in sectiontransverse to the bearing axis at the middle, illustrating in position Ithe blank prior to coining, showing in position II the coining operationwith the tools engaging the blank and in position III showing thecompleted coined bar.

FIG. 16 is a section through the middle of the window showing a sideview of the tools used in coining.

Describing in illustration but not in limitation and referring to thedrawings;

Many self-contained produced in the art.

Some of them use relatively soft materials in the form ofdie castings orthe like and do not provide strong cages.

In some of the roller-and-cage units, the cage is made from strip stockwhich has a thickness of only approximately 20 percent of the rollerdiameter so that thecagc is lacking in strength and rigidity.

Other roller-and-eage units employ tubing which is pierced and coined bypressure rolling it to make the outside retention, leaving the crossbartoward the middle untouched with a relatively thin and inadequatethickness.

In other cage units which-are pierced and coined from a machined blank,the coining leads to a guiding portion which is relatively far inward ofthe pitch circle, and either leads to roller guiding of the cagewithoutguiding of the cage on the outside or cam action against the guidingsurfaces tending to jam the roller or both difficulties.

In other self-contained cages which are made by piercing a machinedblank, it is necessary to go through elaborate supplemental machiningoperations such as milling, broaching, shaving, or even grinding, whichare both time consuming and uneconomical.

One procedure for making a self-contained cage for a rollerand-cage unitis to first pierce a machined blank and then shave it at an offset angleto the radial direction. This leads to rocking the crossbar at itstransverse axis so that the window is open at one side of the bar andconstricted at the other side of the bar, thus encouraging loss ofretention at one side and binding at the other side, Heinrich SchmidtU.S. Pat. No. 3,163,447. Also the tool wear in producing this cage fromsteel is excessive, due to the heavy wall thickness needed and theoffset direction of shaving.

Other efforts to solve this problem appear in Schaeffler U.S. Pat. No.3,1 10,529 which has guidance provided near the interior of thecrossbars by lips which tend to cam the roller outwardly when the cageleads and lags with respect to the motion of the roller. A furthereffort has been made to solve this problem in Einaudi U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,960 which has an extremely thin midlength portion which permits onerim to twist with respect to the other. In this Einaudi cage the windowis pierced through the thick section of the rim, thus drasticallyreducing tool life.

The present invention is designed to overcome these difficulties, makingit possible to obtain a roller-and-cage combination with a steel cage,while obtaining long tool life.

In accordance with the invention, a suitably curved blank is employed,which has a thick section at therims, a relieved portion immediatelyinside the rims at which the end of the pierced window is to be located,a thick section toward the middle at each side which is to provideguidance and outer retention, and a thin midsection which is to provideinner retention.

The windows are punched by indexing the blank and forming parallel sideswhich are wide at the ends and relatively narrow at the midlengthportion. Subsequent to forming the winroller-and-cage units have beendows, the crossbars are coined, preferably simultaneously at both thecenter and the ends, to form lips on the thickened guiding portionswhich will retain the roller at the outside when the cage is removedfrom the assembly, and to form inwardly converging walls at themidlength portion which will retain the roller in the cage when the cageis outside the assembly.

In FIG. 1 I illustrate a roller-and-cage combination 2% consisting of acage 21 and rollers 22 supported in the cage. The cage is capable orholding the rollers in position during transport, sale and installation,and also during removal for subsequent repair.

ln H0. 2 I illustrate a portion of the cage 21 provided with rollers 22and also a portion of blank 23 from which the cage has been made.

The construction of the cage will be better understood by reference toFIG. 3. At the opposite ends the cage 21 has rims 24, which may extendcontinuously where the bearing can be inserted endwise, or may bedivided or interrupted for insertion around shaft or the like as in theease of a connecting rod bearing. Toward the midlength portion of thecage there are a plurality of windows 25, each of which is adapted toreceive and retain one roller, and between the windows there arecrossbars 26.

Each of the rims has a radially outward surface 27 which is intended toguide on a suitably hardened land of an outer tubular mernber 28,normally not supplied by the bearing manufacturer, as shown in FIG. 4.

Toward the midlength portion at each end of the crossbar 26 there is anexternal recess opposite a reduced section 31, at which the windowterminates endwise.

Further inward, toward the midlength portion of the cage, there is athickened guiding portion 32 at each end which is adapted to guide therollers approximately opposite the pitch diameter as shown at 33.Radially outside of the pitch circle, at each side of the guidingportion 32 there are lips 34. protruding toward the opposite side of thewindow, which serve to retain the roller in place when theroller-and-cage combination outside the assembled bearing.

Toward the midlength portion of the crossbar 26, there is a relativelythin inner retaining portion 35 of the crossbar which has at the twosides outwardly converging sidewalls 36 which allow clearance for theroller when it is in operation and at the same time retain the roller inthe cage when the combination is removed from the assembly:

It will be evident that in the preferred embodiment the interior of thecrossbar and the rim forms a straight line axially as shown at 37, forexample as shown in FIG. 16, the indentations in the contour beingprovided at the outside of the cage.

The rim itself is relatively quite thick, and should have a thickness ofbetween 60 and 95 percent of the roller diarneter.

The reduced section 31 between the rim 24 and the guiding portion 32which protects against excessive wear on the fillets at the ends of thepunches, may be as thin as 35 percent of the roller diameter and asthick as 20 percent less than the thickness of the guiding portion 32.

The guiding portion 32 will have a thickness of between 55 and 95percent of the roller diameter. The midlength portion 35 should have athickness of between 30 and 50 percent of the roller diameter.

In FIG. 4 the assembled roller-and-cage combination is operating betweenan outer member 28 and an inner shaft or the like 40, the intentionbeing that the cage will guide on its outside diameter.

In FIG. it will be evident that rollers 22 are illustrated in guidingrelation at pitch circle 41 with the guiding surfaces 33 of the guidingportions 32, while the outer retaining lips 34 are extending inward torestrict the width of the window to somewhat less than the diameter ofthe roller, by a difference suitable to press the roller into position,which may be of the order of 0.004 to 0.015 inch (the total interferenceof the window) with a roller diameter of one-fourth inch.

In normal operation of the roller-and-cage combination, the lips 34should never contact the rollers, but if the roller-andcage combinationmust be removed after assembly, then the lips 34 function to hold therollers in place.

As shown in FIG. 6, which illustrates the shape the midlength portion 26of the crossbar, the sides of the crossbar are relieved at 36 so that nocontact should occur with the rollers during normal operation, but whenthe roller and cage combination are removed from the bearing, then therewill be sufficient interference, suitably of the order of 0.004 to 0.015of an inch (the total interference of the window) in a bearing having%-inch roller diameter.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the blank 23 from which the cage is to be made.While the blank will in many cases preferably be made of steel, whichmay be used without heat treatment, or may for example be carburizedafter completion of the cage and before insertion of the rollers, thecage may be of a suitable nonferrous metal, including one of the copperbase alloys, or, if the stresses are low enough, it may be made ofaluminum or plastic.

The cage is indexed to bring the middle of a window opening opposite thecenter radial line of punching, and the punch is operated as best shownby FIG. 9 to 12 inclusive, moving it radially inward along center line45 producing parallel sides of the window as suggested by lines 46 and48. It will be noted that unlike the Schmidt process, previouslydescribed, no shaving in an angular direction is contemplated but merelyradial punching or piercing.

To suggest that different dimensions are used at the two criticalportions of the window, X in FIG. 9, 11 and 12 sug gests punching widewindow opening which begins at the end of the window in the reducedportion 3!, thus conserving on the wear on the fillets at the ends ofthe punch, and Y suggests a somewhat narrower winding opening oppositethe midlength section 26. It will be noted that unlike the Einaudipatent above referred to, the punching does not extend into the thickrim.

Thus, as shown in FlG. 9, a window 25 is produced which ends at 47inwardly of the rim and in the reduced section 31, then there arerelatively wide guiding walls 33 produced in the relatively thickguiding portion 32 near each end, and an initially straight-sidedrelatively narrow portion 48 is produced in the midlength portion 26.

The pierced sidewalls of the window are parallel to one another as shownin FIGS. 11 and 12.

The coining operation of the crossbar of the cage is shown in FIGS. 15and 16, and the completed crossbar as coined prior to insertion of therollers is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. While it is most convenient to coinboth parts of the crossbar at the same time, it will be evident ofcourse that separate coining operations for the outside retaining lipsand for the inner retaining portion can be used if desired. In any case,the crossbars are coined with the center of the crossbar at the toolaxis.

FIG. 15 shows the radial axis of the coining punch, which is directlyand centrally aligned with a backup mandrel or anvil 51 which has acrossbar-supporting portion 52 which is immediately beneath the straightportion 37 at the inside of the crossbar and rim.

In full line in FIG. 15, a center coining punch 53 extends inwardlystraddling the crossbar by a V-shaped recess 54 and having on eitherside of this recess diverging forming surfaces 55 which cause plasticdeformation of metal at 56 which would otherwise interfere with theroller so that it forms an inclined surface 36 and moves some of themetal upward into a thickened portion 58. Thus the roller-retentionfeature of the midlength portion 26 of the crossbar with the roller atthe two sides is retained and the midlength section of the crossbar hasincreased depth of section and stiffness.

There is an end coining punch 60, preferably part of the punch 53, ateach end, which has symmetrically placed at its forward end oppositelysloping forming portions 61 which encounter at the midline the outer endof the guiding and outside retaining portion 32, to spread the metaloutward at the outside, forming retaining lips 34, while at the sametime leaving unimpaired the clearance along the punched or pierced walls46 which engage the sides of the roller at approximately the pitchcircle. The clearance between the lips 34 is shown at Z in FIG. 5.

Thus, the tolerance on the width of the window which is the rollerdiameter plus the clearance between the window and the roller, asestablished by the initial punching or piercing, is retained unimpairedby the cooling, the lip 34 merely being relied upon to retain therollers in the cage when the cage is not functioning in the assembly.

It will beevident that the forward ends 63 of the center coining punch53 at either side of the crossbar enter relieved portions 64 in themandrel 51.

Thus by reference to FIG. 15, it will be seen that at position I thecrossbar is shown prior to coining, at position ll the crossbar is shownat the completion of the simultaneous coining operations, while inposition II] the crossbar is shown after coining and removal of thecoining punch.

As a consequence the finished cage, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, haslips 34 which can be elastically deflected to press in the roller fromthe outside and then will hold the roller against the escape from theoutside and has inwardly converging walls 36 whose total clearance issufficiently less than the roller diameter. so that the roller will notescape radially inwardly.

It will be evident that the invention provides a self-containing unitconsisting of a cage and its rollers which can be sold and installed assuch, economizing on radial space as compared to a bearing having innerand outer races, and allowing the machinery manufacturer to incorporatethe inner and outer race functions in componentsFwhich will be used alsofor other purposes.

It will be evident that the dimension which was created by piercing andwhich is unchanged and provides the guiding contact near the pitch line,must allow for the space occupied by the roller and sufficient clearancefor proper operation of the cage with respect to the roller incircumferential and radial motion of the cage and roller. 1

It will be evident that the design f the crossbar is such that the cageis capable of functioning under heavy duty, and yet flexible enough topermit insertion or if necessary removal of individual rollers asrequired. The thickness is adequate to provide suitable strength, butstill is reduced where practical so as to minimize the wear on thetools. This would be especially a problem if one were to pierce into therim of a heavywalled cage. The ends of the window terminate in therelief groove and not in the rim of the cage.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore claim allsuch insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of myclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A roller-and-cage combination for use in a bearing, the cagecomprising rims and crossbars extending between the rims and separatingthe cage into windows, and rollers guided by the cage and positionedwith a single roller in each window,

the rims being relatively thick with respect to the roller diameter andhaving guiding surfaces adapted to guide at the outside, the windowsterminating short of the rims at each end, the crossbars having at theirends areas of reduced thickness, toward the midlength area from the end,guiding and outward retaining areas, and at the middle, inner retainingareas, the guiding and outward retaining areas providing guidance forthe rollers adjacent the pitch diameter and the guiding and outwardretaining areas outside the pitch diameter having relatively converginglips which prevent the roller from escaping from the window outwardly,the crossbar at the midlength area having a spacing from the adjoiningcrossbar at the opposite side of the window which is too small to permitescape of the roller inwardly, and having a diverging shape in theinward direction adjoining the adjacent rollers.

2. A roller-and-cage combination of claim 1, in which the crossbars andthe rims extend straight in the axial direction at the inside.

3. A roller-and-cage combination of claim 1, in which the thickness ofthe rim is between 60 and percent of the roller diameter.

4. A rollerand-cagc combination in claim 1, in which the guiding andoutward retaining areas of the crossbar have a thickness between 55 and95 percent of the roller diameter and the areas of reduced thickness atthe ends of the crossbar adjoining the rim have a thickness at least 20percent of the roller diameter less than the thickness of the guidingand outward retaining areas.

5. A roller and cage combination of claim 1, in which the midlength areaof the crossbar has a thickness of between 30 and 50 percent of theroller diameter.

6. A cage for use in a roller and cage combination, comprisingrelatively thick rims at the opposite ends which are guiding surfacesadapted to guide on the outside diameter, crossbars connecting the rimsand providing intervening windows adapted to guide and retain a singleroller in each window, each crossbar having adjacent its ends andinterposed between the crossbar and the rim a section of reducedthickness, then toward the midlength area at each end a guiding sectionof increased thickness, and then in the midlength inner retaining areaof reduced thickness, the guiding portions at each side of the windowhaving parallel sides adapted to guide the roller adjacent the pitchdiameter and outwardly thereof having converging lips which retain theroller against escape outwardly, the area at the midlength having lessdistance across the window than the guiding portion and having atopposite sides of the window converging sides which retain the rolleragainst escaping inwardly.

7. A cage of claim 6, in which is straight in the axial direction acrossthe inside of each crossbar and the adjoining rims.

8 A cage of claim 6, in which the rims have a thickness of between 60and 95 percent of the roller diameter.

9. A cage of claim 6, in which the guiding portions have a thickness ofbetween 55 and 95 percent of the roller diameter and the reducedportions at the ends of the crossbars have a thickness which is at least20 percent of the intended roller diameter less than the thickness ofthe guiding portion.

10. A cage of claim 6, in which the crossbar at the midlength portionhas a thickness of between 30 and 50 percent of the roller diameter.

1. A roller-and-cage combination for use in a bearing, the cagecomprising rims and crossbars extending between the rims and separatingthe cage into windows, and rollers guided by the cage and positionedwith a single roller in each window, the rims being relatively thickwith respect to the roller diameter and having guiding surfaces adaptedto guide at the outside, the windows terminating short of the rims ateach end, the crossbars having at their ends areas of reduced thickness,toward the midlength area from the end, guiding and outward retainingareas, and at the middle, inner retaining areas, the guiding and outwardretaining areas providing guidance for the rollers adjacent the pitchdiameter and the guiding and outward retaining areas outside the pitchdiameter having relatively converging lips which prevent the roller fromescaping from the window outwardly, the crossbar at the midlength areahaving a spacing from the adjoining crossbar at the opposite side of thewindow which is too small to permit escape of the roller inwardly, andhaving a diverging shape in the inward direction adjoining the adjacentrollers.
 2. A roller-and-cage combination of claim 1, in which thecrossbars and the rims extend straight in the axial direction at theinside.
 3. A roller-and-cage combination of claim 1, in which thethickness of the rim is between 60 and 95 percent of the rollerdiameter.
 4. A roller-and-cage combination in claim 1, in which theguiding and outward retaining areas of the crossbar have a thicknessbetween 55 and 95 percent of the roller diameter and the areas ofreduced thickness at the ends of the crossbar adjoining the rim have athickness at least 20 percent of the roller diameter less than thethickness of the guiding and outward retaining areas.
 5. A roller andcage combination of claim 1, in which the midlength area of the crossbarhas a thickness of between 30 and 50 percent of the roller diameter. 6.A cage for use in a roller and cage combination, comprising relativelythick rims at the opposite ends which are guiding surfaces adapted toguide on the outside diameter, crossbars connecting the rims andproviding intervening windows adapted to guide and retain a singleroller in each window, each crossbar having adjacent its ends andinterposed between the crossbar and the rim a section of reducedthickness, then toward the midlength area at each end a guiding sectionof increased thickness, and then in the midlength inner retaining areaof reduced thickness, the guiding portions at each side of the windowhaving parallel sides adapted to guide the roller adjacEnt the pitchdiameter and outwardly thereof having converging lips which retain theroller against escape outwardly, the area at the midlength having lessdistance across the window than the guiding portion and having atopposite sides of the window converging sides which retain the rolleragainst escaping inwardly.
 7. A cage of claim 6, in which is straight inthe axial direction across the inside of each crossbar and the adjoiningrims. 8 A cage of claim 6, in which the rims have a thickness of between60 and 95 percent of the roller diameter.
 9. A cage of claim 6, in whichthe guiding portions have a thickness of between 55 and 95 percent ofthe roller diameter and the reduced portions at the ends of thecrossbars have a thickness which is at least 20 percent of the intendedroller diameter less than the thickness of the guiding portion.
 10. Acage of claim 6, in which the crossbar at the midlength portion has athickness of between 30 and 50 percent of the roller diameter.